Bathurst Manor Year End Report for Housing Sales in 2018

(This information includes Bathurst Manor and Clanton Park)

Happy New Year! It is now the beginning of 2019, a time to reflect on the year that has passed and a time to plan for the New Year.  With respect to real estate and especially real estate in Toronto and areas within, what does this year have in store for you?  Is this the year that you should buy a new house, upgrade you current home, sell your current home, maybe downsize or perhaps invest in real estate? What does the market look like now and for this year?

I will try to answer these questions and more.  First let’s look at what happened in real estate in 2017 and how this year ended.  We can definitely say 2017 was a year of change and government intervention. The market was historically hot the 1st quarter of the year and then the changes. Government implemented 20% down payment. Then Ontario Fair Housing Plan including a foreign buyers tax (a 15% tax on all foreign buyer). This slowed the housing market, not so much the condo market, then the market picked up in December because of the government threat of the stress test which would come into effect on January the first of 2018 (buyers would need to qualify of 2% higher than existing mortgage rates. This is the year of the introduction of the stress test and the results.

Now lets look at the numbers: The average sales price for this area decreased from $888,743 to $824,047 a decrease of about $64,000 on average or 7%.  The median price however increased from $557,000 to $$585,000, an increase of about  $28,000 or almost 5%.  There were 143 less listing taken this year than last year, and 80 less sales made this year(386 sales in 2017 and  306 sales in 2018).  On average a house sold in 23 days this year as oppose to 18 days last year and for 97% of asking price this year compared to 105% of asking last year.  This means that this year houses took longer to sell and they did not get as close to their asking price.  The most important thing to know for people in Bathurst manor is that housing prices decreased by over $64,000, however, this may or may not be a true amount because in this community, the houses are made up of 50+ year old homes on large lots and also multi-million dollar homes which are homes that were torn down and rebuilt.  If more new homes are sold one year, the average house price seems very high, however if more older homes in original condition sell housing prices will average out to be lower. We do know that the median housing price definitely did go up and that may be because of the differences in houses in the area ( as just stated).

Now, we must look at Toronto as a whole and how the market did in general. In 2017 Toronto Real Estate Board had 93,000 sales a decrease from 2016 with approx. 113,000 sales. Last year the sales again decreased by 16.1% to 77,426. The average house price also decreased by 4.3% to $787,300 in 2018. Approximately 1 out of every 2 houses sold in Toronto. In Toronto they are selling in 20 days and getting 100% of asking. However, usually when inventory goes down, prices go up, This year inventory decreased and sales when down. This is strange and goes against the laws of supply and demand. 

There are many predictions about the economy and real estate prices in 2019, as there is every year. The heads in our company are prediction that by 2030 the average house price in the GTA will be over $2,000,000. Predictions can be right or wrong similar to the weather. All this talk is causing a lot of buyer uncertainty!

Here are a few facts that we see and know:

• 2017 had high real estate housing sales at approx. 93,000 sales which was just under the numbers in 2015 which went down in history as the most active year according to the Toronto Real estate board (for that time)with 101,299 sales or an increase of 9.2% over sales in 2014(2007 held the past record of most sales at 93,193). 2018 only had just over 77,000 sales down by approximately 17% from 2017 and down 24% from the highest yearly sales.
• Unemployment is low
• The economy is strong
• Emigration continues at record levels
• The cost of housing is affordable due to interest rates still quite low
• Rental rates are similar to cost of ownership
• The boomers' kids have grown up and the kids born from 1977 to 1994 (which number around 9.2 million in Canada in 2011) they are ready to start buying real estate.
• Real Estate over the long term is a sound investment that continues to increase.
• Real Estate has been paying a higher return than investing you money in the bank.

These factors we feel could strengthen the real estate market if buyer confidence returns in for 2019. Toronto offers an ideal location close to everything and very central, however, Bathurst Manor offers newly built and/or renovated housed on large lots which you can not always find in the core of Toronto and at a more affordable price. It is also ideally located conveniently close to highways. Prices have cooled slightly and we are now in a more normal market which prices traditionally increase when the spring market hits. So don`t wait. We are now in a market with more available choices in houses and we don`t need to feel rushed or forced into bidding wars and overpay for houses. It`s a great to time buy, invest or upgrade your present home!

With low interest rates, low rental availability and constant emigration and a low unemployment rate, our housing market was very solid in the past and could be again. These factors we feel will help keep the real estate market strong in Toronto.

The return on your money invested in a bank is extremely low, so why not invest in housing.  It is a sound investment!  If you are thinking of buying, upgrading or investing with interest rates still low, now is the perfect time!  Also because the prices have dropped, it is the best time to buy in a downward market and it closes the differential when upgrading your home.  Real Estate is a sound investment and historically always has been!

Buyer's market or seller's market, NOW IS THE PERFECT TIME TO BUY OR SELL!!

For help with any of your Real Estate inquires, feel free to call Carey and Sharon Rosenzweig (416)818-2600.